Over the last few months many residents and road users have been in touch with their concerns about the unexpected closure of the bridge on the A422, and people have been rightly looking for the road to reopen as soon as possible. I fully appreciate the great difficulty and hardship the closure has caused for so many of my constituents, and I have continually pushed for the quickest, and safest, solution to enable the bridge to be reopened fully.

Since then, I have been in regular contact with Northamptonshire County Council, Northants Highways and the Environment Agency, and I know that they have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to do everything they can to accelerate the repair works. I would like to pay particular tribute to Cllr Ian Morris, Transport Portfolio Holder at the County Council, and Rebecca Miller who has been managing the project, for their keen attention to the situation.

Money has been made available for the repair works, and the County Council is treating the reopening of the A422 as a top priority. Additionally, the Environment Agency has granted permission for the repairs to be carried out and provided the County Council with the necessary works permits; plans have now been moved forward and work is expected to begin shortly rather than next year. Following recent conversations with all parties, Northants Highways are now confident, weather dependent, that the repairs will take around three weeks to complete. It is the aim of Northants Highways to have the road reopened before Christmas, and their contractors will be on site very soon.

As ever, please do get in touch with me if you have specific concerns or questions about the ongoing closure whilst works are effected.